10 Pfennig

Freiberg's notgeld issue of 1918 sits squarely in the first wave of municipal emergency currency that flooded Germany as metal coinage effectively disappeared from circulation — hoarded, melted, or requisitioned for the war effort. The city's mining heritage made it a natural candidate for locally distinctive scrip, though the Krey und Sommerlad print shop in Niedersedlitz, a Dresden suburb, handled production for numerous Saxon municipalities simultaneously, which limits how much weight to place on any single commission.

The designer credit to Rieß is unusual — many notgeld of this size and period went uncredited entirely. Whether this refers to a local commercial artist or a house designer at the printer remains unresolved.